


Timelines

by cylawings



Series: Timelines [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Frisk also being nonbinary, Frisky being the sweetheart they are, aka they/them pronouns for frisk, depressed character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 17:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5099627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cylawings/pseuds/cylawings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans and the gang have been above ground for quite some time, but knowledge only Sans has is weighing him down. The others finally get him to talk about it to a certain extent and he has a breakdown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timelines

The day was a good day. The sun was bright, there were hardly any clouds... A perfect day to go to the beach. The entire gang had gotten together to go on this trip, and by that I mean Papyrus and Undyne ran into the house screaming about going to the beach.  
  San was sitting in a chair of course, not really interested in getting up to partake in the activities. He was the 'lazy' one after all. He enjoyed watching them have fun more anyways. He liked seeing them smile.  
  Frisk was on Papyrus' shoulders, and Alphys on Undyne's and they were having some sort of wrestling match. Toriel was with the monster kid, finding seashells. Asgore was just taking a nice walk along the edge of the water. Mettaton meanwhile was going back and forth between the shade and doing a live broadcast in the sun(he needed frequent breaks because of some sort of 'fear of overheating' thing. To be honest, Sans was positive he was being over dramatic).  
  Sans was just smiling, watching them as they wandered about, clueless to the constant fear that plastered his mind. How could anyone be heartless enough to take this away from them....? He'd seen it happen, he KNEW it could happen again... But really, who was sick enough to take it away after they finally got it?  
  He still thought about it constantly, the fact that any moment everything could be brought back. All the way to the beginning. He'd wake up outside the door to the ruins, and the memory of this timeline would feel like a dream. Through time he'd learned these weren't some messed up series of dreams and instead the timeline constantly being restarted.  
  "Sans, are you listening?"  
  The skeleton jumped, shaken from his daydreaming by Toriels voice. "Oh- Hey Tori, what's up?" He forced a wide grin, the one he always had.  
  She frowned slightly, but quickly covered it with a smile, "Look at all the shells me and Kid found! There's so many different kinds up here!" She held out the bucket, Kid's eyes shining like the shells were a treasure.  
  Sans looked at the different types and colors of shells within the bucket, surprised. The humans world had so many interesting, colorful things. He didn't want to ever leave... especially because he usually couldn't recall any knowledge he happened to have of the world above the underground after the timeline was reset.  
  Toriel reached in and pulled one out, "These ones are apparently called sand dollars!!" Her eyes sparkled happily, "Isn't that silly?" She looked at Sans expectantly, obviously waiting for a joke.  
  San paused, before immediately going for it, "Ey, I'd 'shell' you a pun, but I don't think I have the 'conch'-ense!"  
  They burst into laughter together, and Sans loved it. He always loved these moments the most, where he was able to just, genuinely be happy, if even just for a few seconds. Moments when he could admire the special things he had in the moment rather than worrying about the future.  
  He loved the way she laughed. He loved it so much, from every gasp for breathe to little snort to the way she covered her mouth to try to stop. Then of course she had to give one in return as soon as she wasn't a mess of giggles, "Really Sans, I think you should just 'clam' it!" She fell into a mess of giggles again, dragging Sans into a fit of laughter as well.  
  Most of all he loved how much she adored these stupid jokes. He loved how she loved it as much as he did.  
  They both turned their attention towards the water as a loud screech of victory was heard. Frisk and Papyrus were soaked, sitting in the water with Undyne and Alphys  standing over them. Undyne was screamingher victory, swinging Alphys in circles,"THATS WHAT YOU GET MESSING WITH US MONSTER GIRLFRIENDSSSSSS!!"  
  Papyrus shook his fist at her, "I WILL WIN ONE DAY!" He looked down and saw Frisk, now soaked. He gasped in shock and picked them up rushing over, "DID I BREAK THE HUMAN?! THEY'RE ALL COLD!!"  
  Toriel laughed, "no no, they're fine dearie."  
Frisk smiled, nodding, and papped Papyrus on the cheek reassuringly. Papyrus gave a wide smile, and picked Frisk up to run off again.  
  As they ran off to get their revenge, Sans couldn't help but grimace at the thought that Frisk... THEIR FRISK... could honestly be the same Frisk from the other timelines... The ones where they showed no mercy, and blood of everyone was shed... Until finally at the end everything restarted again and left Sans to pray he wouldn't have to deal with it again.  
  Just the thought that their angel was that monster seemed completely wrong. There was no way they were the same person... How could someone who hugged everything they see to bloodthirsty like that...?  
  Sans shuddered, and Toriel didn't fail to notice, "Sans, are you too cold?" She seemed obviously worried.  
  "Oh uh- yeah, must be the wind. It's sure windy down here yknow," He chuckled nervously.  
  "Oh I do hope your not coming down with anything," She frowned, feeling his forehead lightly. Did skeletons even get fevers...?  
  Toriel ended up deciding they should head home, so everyone packed up and left. Sans liked their house. It was big, and was more like a bunch of different houses all clumped together... They all lived together, mostly because there weren't many monsters out in the world yet and felt safer all together.  
  It was nice how they worked out living together. Asgore liked making everyone tea and coffee, while Toriel loved cooking so they often prepared meals. Papyrus and Undyne also liked cooking, but Papyrus could only sometimes cook edible spaghetti, and Undyne had been banned from the kitchen after their house was almost burnt down. Alphys was everyones go to for technical issues, or even just ideas for new shows to watch. Alphys, Frisk, and Mettaton all spent a lot of time educating all of them on humans, all in their own very unique ways..  
  And by that I mean, Alphys stuttured a lot then just turned on animes, Mettaton would SOMEHOW figure out a way to act it out or make it over dramatic, and Frisk just... Frisk was the only normal one.  
  Sans also enjoyed everyone receiving the privacy of their own rooms. He would be lying if he said Papyrus or Frisk hadn't snuck into his room before though. If he truly wanted to be left be, he'd lock the door... Mostly it was unlocked though.  
  He felt very bad one night when he'd reacted far too badly to a Halloween prank. They'd decided to sneak in while he was asleep, then wake him up and scared him. Frisks costume had required a toy knife, Sans bad nearly thrown Frisk into the wall. He hadn't slept that night, memories of other timelines plaguing his dreams every time he tried.  
  It still happened quite often of course, his dreams. Sometimes they'd be reoccurring while others only happened once. He had dreams of the other timelines, some where Frisk was the same as the Frisk who they had right now, others where this sweet cuddly human was completely gone and replaced by someone who didn't have a heart.  
  Toriel was giving everyone dinner now, everyone chattering on and on together as they got their food. Sans liked eating with them. He always found it nice to see them all talking and smiling without a worry in the world. Even Mettaton actually came to eat with them though he technically didn't need to.  
  Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne all sat together on one end, Alphys sitting between her two best friends and talking about some new animes she wanted to watch. Asgore was sitting with Papyrus and Frisk, the king himself was fairly quiet though Papyrus made up for it by going on and on about whatever came to mind.  
  Toriel sat next to Sans, and would make small conversation or even throw out a pun now and again. He loved her... He really did. She was just so... amazing. And he loved the rest of them too. He loved his brother and Frisk, he loved Alphys and Undyne, he loved the king and even loved that egostistical robot. They were a family now. He frowned, staring at his food. And that could all be taken away without a warning.  
He gently pushed away his plate, "I'm not hungry. I think I'll go to bed." He got up and left before anyone could say anything.  
  He loved them so much it hurt. He didn't want to lose them... He shut his door behind him, falling over on his bed. How many times had he seen them die? He'd lost count. How many times had a timeline ended with him killing Frisk? How many times had he killed Frisk and been relieved because 'thank God- it's finally over...'  
  He rolled onto his side, hugging his pillow close and trying to calm down. He wanted everything to just feel SAFE for once. He wanted everything to not feel like it could be pulled out from under him any second.  
  He wanted to stop getting his hopes up, thinking they'd finally be fine, just to wake up in a reset timeline again.  
  Sans jumped as his door was opened, seeing Mettaton coming in. He rolled his eyes, burying his face into his pillow again, "What? I'm trying to sleep yknow."  
  "Darling, please, I don't call that sleeping." The robots heels clicked against the ground as he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"  
  Sans turned his head just enough to narrow his eyes at Mettaton. "What?"  
  "We can all tell your upset about something Sans." He stated, looking down at him and actually appearing concerned. "Everyone else is worried just as I am. We want to talk to you if you'll come downstairs."  
  Sans stared at him, his mind spinning. How could they tell? Sure he'd skipped a meal or two but... he wasn't being that obvious was he? "Alright." He slowly said, getting up to follow Mettaton downstairs.  
  Everyone was indeed there, sitting on the couches, chairs, and floor in the living room. They'd been talking but quieted as Sans came down, their worried eyes burning holes in him. "Heard you all wanted to see me?" He breathed out casually, the oh so familiar calm grin forming on his face.  
  They all glanced to eachother, no one wanting to be the one to speak first, until finally it was Frisk who spoke, "we're worried about you."  
  Sans smile faltered, "What? Why you worried about me? I'm fineee."  
  "I heard you crying in your sleep." Frisk stated.  
  Sans eyes widened slightly, before he quickly stuttered, "Wh-What? You sure it wasn't... yknow, um..." He couldn't think of what to say, looking down at the rug beneath his feet.  
  "Sans if something is bothering you, you know you can tell us." Toriel voice spoke gently.  
  "Yeah!" Undyne stated, "We wanna help! And punch anyone who has made you upset!!!"  
  Sans was shaking now, flinching at Undyne's words. She wouldn't be saying that if she knew...  
   "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL MAKE WHATEVER IT IS BETTER!!" Papyrus declared.  
  Sans breathes had become shaky. No no, don't say that, you cant do anything... He was struggling to keep his calm, staring hard at the floor.  
  "Y-Yeah, I'm sure we can all h-help." Alphys said confidently.  
  "NO. YOU CANT." Sans finally broke, the walls holding back all his emotions crumbling as he snapped his head up, one eye glowing angrily, "YOU CANT, AND YOU WOULDNT UNDERSTAND. YOU... you..." his voice shook. "you can't do anything..."  
  Everyone was silent, surprised by the outburst. Frisk got to their feet and said nothing, going to Sans and hugging him tight. Sans broke down, sobbing violently as he hugged Frisk back. Slowly, the others followed suit, all gathering around him in a big group hug. They were patient, letting him cry himself out.  
  "I- I love you," Sans managed, "all of you. So, so much... Please don't go anywhere."  
  "We're not going anywhere," Toriel soothed, before gently making everyone back up from him now that he was cried out. "We'll always be here," She smiled.  
  The others nodded in agreement, all offering him reassuring smiles. It hurt to know he could lose this... but it helped too. "Thank you..." He murmured, looking down.  
  Frisk gently lifted his head, giving him a smile. They pointed to their smile, indicating he should too, so he smiled in return. He hugged Frisk again, before quietly asking them if he could talk to them in his room. They nodded, and after giving their good nights, turned and went upstairs together.  
  They stopped at his door, Sans turning and just looking at them for a moment. "Frisk... Please... don't reset the timeline again." He glanced away.  
  Frisk appeared confused, "I don't control that... something... bigger than us does. I'm sorry." Frisk frowned in concern, of course putting it together quickly and figuring out what was wrong. "I'm sure if I try asking it real nice it won't reset anything." They smiled.  
  Sans looked at Frisk, before sighing and nodding slowly. "Alright... I'm just... scared."  
  Frisk cast him a sympathetic look, "I know. We'll be okay... we've been up here almost a year already, maybe it isn't going to reset us anymore." Frisk smiled with determination, before patting his shoulder, "Goodnight Sans."  
  Sans watched them turn to walk away, but quickly stepped forward, "Frisk.."  
  "hm?" They glanced back.  
  "I... I love you," He said.  
  Frisk smiled, "I love you too. Now go sleep, I'll see you tomorrow." They then turned and disappeared downthe stairs.  
  Sans watched them go, before slowly retreating to his room. He laid down, thinking about what they said, and sighing. He fell asleep easier that night.

 

  He didn't have a dream that night. No nightmare, no dream, just nothing.  
  He found himself waking up after what felt like too short of an amount of time. As his eyes opened he saw not his rooms cieling, but instead the tops of trees and the early morning sky. He sat up and stared at the trees around him, then at a large purple door nearby.  
  He didn't do anything for a long moment before murmuring, "Here we go again..."

**Author's Note:**

> HEY, there is an alternate ending! Please check it out, I have it posted!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A fic in which Sans overreacts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5230409) by [isissa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isissa/pseuds/isissa)




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